Tuesday

Draw a line under yesterday then & onto the next. Good to have an early opportunity to get it right, as they like to say.

Colchester with 3 draws, 1 win & 1 loss since Cowley came in. Absolutely no idea what they’re like but you’d have to imagine the management will have them well drilled & functional as a minimum.

I honestly don’t think the main problem is playing out from the back, the underlying problem is the fact we can’t defend in any meaningful sense of the word. Been the same all season, we can’t withstand any sustained pressure, are prone to lapses in concentration and have no organisation as a defensive unit. The issue with playing out from the back is that we end up putting ourselves (through poor retention & a lack of confidence) in a position where we have to defend.

That interview from Challinor was really concerning. If you know how the opposition are going to play, for definite, then just set up accordingly & inevitably we’ll fold. You’d expect Colchester to be putting it on us big time for the first 15-20 in the hope we give them a goal or two.

I don’t know if Artell’s ever set up with 3 centre-halves but I honestly wouldn’t be heartbroken if he went with another body in the middle and Smith/Hume as wingbacks. Not that I expect him to, think we’ll line up the same with maybe Andrews in for Holohan.

I'd like to see us change that midfield 3, personally i'd have Andrews or Green alongside Thompson in front of the back four and then Charles, Arthur, Abo in behind Danny Rose. I think it solves two problems we have. It protects our back 4 more and it gets people closer to Danny Rose. The playing out the back isn't the problem, it's when it goes forward we can't expect Danny Rose to compete against two centre halfs and a holding midfielder by himself. There's nobody within 15 yards of him so it just comes straight back at us. It's one thing that Pyke did so well when he was in the side so I think we'll possibly see him come back into the side aswell as Charles.  

It’s n the stars….Vernham starts and scores a wonder goal to give town an important away win….

Quoted from IlkleyMariner

It’s n the stars….Vernham starts and scores a wonder goal to give town an important away win….

How can you expect any player to go to Colchester & score a wonder goal ?😉

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

I'd like to see us change that midfield 3, personally i'd have Andrews or Green alongside Thompson in front of the back four and then Charles, Arthur, Abo in behind Danny Rose. I think it solves two problems we have. It protects our back 4 more and it gets people closer to Danny Rose. The playing out the back isn't the problem, it's when it goes forward we can't expect Danny Rose to compete against two centre halfs and a holding midfielder by himself. There's nobody within 15 yards of him so it just comes straight back at us. It's one thing that Pyke did so well when he was in the side so I think we'll possibly see him come back into the side aswell as Charles.  

Charles in behind Rose, the midfield 3 still remains a conundrum but would suggest Green may start as he has the experience and I would imagine they’d target Andrews .

I went to watch Harrogate v Colchester yesterday so got a good look at them. It was a really even, if uninspiring game which Harrogate won 1-0 with a late goal. In my opinion Colchester will beat us comfortably (as will Harrogate when the rearranged game is played). They’ve got 4 or 5 good players and they are generally very physically strong, athletic and they look after the ball well. They’re not offensively scary, but they get the ball forward quickly and create chances. They also don’t squander possession easily and they don’t f*ck about at the back, although they don’t lump it - they try to pass out, but have players who don’t take silly risks, can control the ball when it’s passed to them and who can make good decisions.

Harrogate are very similar in many ways - they very visibly play out from the back - often with the keeper just giving the ball to a defender in their own six yard box on restarts, but again, with a fraction of the resource we have, they’ve found competent players who can control the ball, who can pass and move and who visibly show they know what they’re doing. Sickened me really that we are not competing with these functional but competent 4th division teams. With our income through the turnstiles and big support. Can’t seem to help but struggle with league football every time we claw our way back. Disgraceful really. If it’s not coincidental then what is it? Financial? Cultural? Structural? Haven’t we been told we’ve addressed all those and yet…..Grimsby Town in L2…apparently one of the ‘big 6’ in the division - perpetually uncompetitive and often, really cr*p.

Anyway, they will high press us to a degree if we insists on our ugly attempt at fudging this tactic,  and they do leave space in behind if play is switched long, quick and diagonal. Harrogate got into attacking areas readily but Colchester’s defence is generally solid, unlike ours.

Their players who stood out are Chilvers - a tidy ball player with good movement and Fevrier - an absolute unit going forward who is rock solid and a nuisance. Hopper did little but will probably terrorise our defensive stooges,  and Akinde, who came on as sub, didn’t do much to Harrogate but would probably make our two centre backs wet their shorts.
So - physical, athletic, tidy, structured, defensively solid and quick to break with purpose. Many attributes that we don’t have.
If we get a result there I’ll be astonished.

Quoted from ska face

Draw a line under yesterday then & onto the next. Good to have an early opportunity to get it right, as they like to say.

Colchester with 3 draws, 1 win & 1 loss since Cowley came in. Absolutely no idea what they’re like but you’d have to imagine the management will have them well drilled & functional as a minimum.

I honestly don’t think the main problem is playing out from the back, the underlying problem is the fact we can’t defend in any meaningful sense of the word. Been the same all season, we can’t withstand any sustained pressure, are prone to lapses in concentration and have no organisation as a defensive unit. The issue with playing out from the back is that we end up putting ourselves (through poor retention & a lack of confidence) in a position where we have to defend.

That interview from Challinor was really concerning. If you know how the opposition are going to play, for definite, then just set up accordingly & inevitably we’ll fold. You’d expect Colchester to be putting it on us big time for the first 15-20 in the hope we give them a goal or two.

I don’t know if Artell’s ever set up with 3 centre-halves but I honestly wouldn’t be heartbroken if he went with another body in the middle and Smith/Hume as wingbacks. Not that I expect him to, think we’ll line up the same with maybe Andrews in for Holohan.

I've said quite a few times recently we could do with the security of 3 centre halves and all of our full backs could do a job at wingback. But I think we could switch between the two, should've done it yesterday, but maybe not against the weaker teams.

I wouldn't have Andrews anywhere near it, he's not a league footballer yet. I do wonder if Hunt is injured though.

Think Vernam must start and id like to see Pyke in on the other side.

Can you pay on the gate for this?

Quoted from headingly_mariner

I've said quite a few times recently we could do with the security of 3 centre halves and all of our full backs could do a job at wingback. But I think we could switch between the two, should've done it yesterday, but maybe not against the weaker teams.

I wouldn't have Andrews anywhere near it, he's not a league footballer yet. I do wonder if Hunt is injured though.

Think Vernam must start and id like to see Pyke in on the other side.

Security with our choices of CB 😆

The Cowleys will use every psychological trick they can on Tuesday. He will have them solely focused on our weaknesses and they will exploit them if we play like the first half yesterday . Play like we did at Accrington and we’ll walk away with 3 points , The Grimsby way can WAIT . You only had to look at Challinors face when he was asked about our playing out from the back . He had to hold a smirk in